The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1887-05-28
THE LANGLEY BURGLARY i

l. 4 g
The large party assembled as usual
at Langley towers to celebrate in ap-
proved fashion the approaching 1st Of
September were all collected one night
after dihner in the drawing room, when
the conversation, hitherto rather lam
guild, CHANGED to turn on burglary
that had lately taken place in the
neighborhood. livery one at once
seized on the toplc,, and proceeded to
relate, more or less irrelevant, but all
alike ghastly, stories Of famous burglar
les. and robheries, till suddenly Miss
Cecil Clifford, cousin Of Lady Lang
ley's, a very pretty girl and an heiress
to boot, who had hitherto taken no
part in the talk, looked upsuddenly alldl
said a5ys|aS S'SF F&# $50
81 do wish you would not all discuss
such horrors. How do you expeetlS'us
to sleep quietly I'M onr beds ifyy0u will
insist on relating such frightful stories.
especially as those wretches who broke
into Co eton Park are still at large?
feel as if I,shoQld find a burglar in my
room tonight, 50 if I should rouse the
house with false alarm, don't blame
mel'' "2ssss'g', 5 tSs,:Ss' i. = :,,y1r ~
" think / should die if T were to
awake and see one IN my room," ex-
claimed little Lady Langley, shrug-
ging her pretty white shoulders in not
wholly affected freight. EF
''At all events, the man would not
trouble you long with his company ii
that tin case Of yours, with your dia.
monds IN it, were lying on your dres.
sing table, as usual" returned her
cousin. Il know you'll be murdered
through those diamonds, one dayl''
+. ''Do you really mean that Lady
Langley keeps her jewelry on her dress
ing-tablep'' asked Captain LeMarchant,
an impecuniousg young man, who was
suspected, on very good grounds, Of
being az naieu~ with the pretty heiress,
and who was, in consequence, rather
out Of favor with her guardians.
''To be sure she does," laughed his
host; ''and, as Cecil says, I know we
shall wake up some fine morning to
find ourselves corpses because Of that
whim of hers.''
"What is the use Of having jewelry
If it is always to be at the bankers?"
retorted Lady Langley. l r.
II wish 10 goodness you'd be sensi-
BILE, Flo,''' demonstrated her cousin,
land have it kept in the plate room, at
all events. I know that 1 shall do
nothing but dream of your diamondsl"
Lady Langley laughed gayly, and
seemed to take malicious pleasure IN
keeping the conversation on the same
subject, despite her Cousins very evil
dent dislike Of 1t, in which she was as
sisted by Captain lie Marchant. who
chaffed Hiss Clifford great deal about
her nerves. until the party separated
for the night. E3t%Ah
Next morning the house was in con-
fusion, for the diamonds were gonel
Lady Langley missed them the
moment she arose, for, her maid being
far from well at the time, she had bid.
"SAA eiiS SiAi IloO CIV up lOl ucl< dIll uuu
undressed herself. leaving her dia-
monds, which she had been wearing,
loose on her dressing table where
Cecil Clifford found them when she
came to her Cousins room to bid her
goodnight as usual, and she put them
in their case. or course every hole
and corner was searched, but IN vain.
The police came, but were equally un-
successful. Not q trace Of either the
thieves or the jewelry we've to be
found. The police, including the de-
tective hastily summoned from Lon
don, were positive that the robbery had
been committed by some one in the
house--conviction that did not add to
the comfort Of the inmates Of Langley
Towers. Suspicion ran riot; the house
hold servants, one and all, belonged to
well-known and respectable families in
the neighborhood, and had mostly been
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